Office of the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. Guide to LA FOIP, Chapter 6, Protection of Privacy. Updated 27 February 2023. 83 Subsection 23(2)(b) Interpretation 23(2) “Personal information” does not include information that discloses: … (b) the personal opinions or views of an individual employed by a local authority given in the course of employment, other than personal opinions or views with respect to another individual; Opinions are views or judgements not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.208 Views are particular ways of regarding something; an attitude or opinion.209 For an organization, public or private, to give voice to its views on a subject matter of interest to it, individuals must be given responsibility for speaking on its behalf. Views and opinions, which individuals express within the context of their employment responsibilities, are not personal opinions or views. Nor is the information “about” the individual. The individuals expressing the position of an organization, in the context or a public or private organization, act simply as a conduit between the intended recipient of the communication and the organization which they represent. The voice is that of the organization, expressed through its spokesperson, rather than that of the individual delivering the message.210 There is often confusion between subsections 23(1)(f), 23(1)(h) and 23(2)(b) of LA FOIP. All three provisions deal with views and opinions of individuals. The following examples will help clarify the three provisions: 23(1)(f) - the views or opinions expressed by an individual are the individual’s personal information. For example, an individual writes, “I am a bad student” or “I think exercise is overrated”. It is the individual’s personal views or opinions about something and is therefore the individual’s personal information. If the views or opinions are about someone else – subsection 23(1)(h) of LA FOIP applies. 23(1)(h) - the views or opinions expressed by an individual about another individual are the personal information of the individual they are about. For example, an individual 208 Pearsall, Judy, Concise Oxford Dictionary, 10th Ed., (Oxford University Press) at p. 999. See also SK OIPC Review Reports F-2006-004 at [43], LA-2013-003 at [26] and 139-2017 at [91]. 209 Pearsall, Judy, Concise Oxford Dictionary, 10th Ed., (Oxford University Press) at p. 1598. 210 ON IPC Reconsideration Order R-980015 at p. 17.
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